Students, teachers and practitioners of the unique skills required to play that family of percussion instruments known as keyboard percussion instruments face a particular set of challenges unique to this area of musical study and performance. The instant invention, an ergonomic, training/practice mallet for keyboard percussion addresses several of these challenges, and while it is foreseen that one or more innovations herein described, particularly the pommeled handle discussed below, will also have applications beyond training and practice, it is these challenges that are of primary concern at this writing. One such challenge is that an advanced study of the keyboard percussion instruments requires the percussionist to learn and become proficient at independently manipulating four or more mallets at a time, with a minimum of two mallets per hand, utilizing said mallets to strike the surface of a percussion instrument such as the marimba or vibraphone to create chords and complex melodic and harmonic sequences. Several methods, or grips, have been promulgated over time to facilitate this learning, including the “traditional” grip, the Musser grip, the Stevens grip and the Burton grip. Acquiring and becoming proficient in any of these methods of gripping and manipulating keyboard percussion mallets necessitates extended rehearsal sessions in which the percussionist learns to manipulate each mallet as an independent member. The acquisition of this skill requires significant development of fine motor control and neuro-muscular coordination.
Traditionally this training has been accomplished using a standard keyboard percussion mallet comprising a striking member (or mallet head) which strikes the striking surface of the instrument and which is attached to one end of a slender, substantially cylindrical shaft typically made of one of a variety of hardwoods or synthetic materials, or rattan. Furthermore traditionally, the end of the mallet shaft which the percussionist grasps is simply a continuation of the body of the shaft with no substantial improvement or change in diameter or construction along the length of the shaft. While many modifications have been made with respect to drumsticks and mallets for other percussion instruments, few have been discovered which address the particular limitations and constraints of mallets for keyboard percussion instruments, such as constraints on the diameter of the mallet shaft so that two or more mallets might be grasped in each hand and manipulated independently. The Musser company, for example, produces a ‘two-stage’ fiberglass mallet for keyboard percussion instruments (the M6-M12 model line, for instance) essentially comprising two mallet shaft members of substantially elongated cylindrical shape, the shaft member to which the mallet head is attached being slightly smaller in diameter than the gripping member. The mallet does not however address the concerns of the instant invention in that traditionally the mallet shaft has comprised a single piece of uniform diameter upon which the mallet head is mounted at one end. This arrangement can prove problematic when the student transitions from two mallet playing in which a single mallet is held in each hand with the hand fully encompassing the diameter of each mallet, to the more advanced techniques of four mallet playing, which requires the percussionist to grasp the mallet shafts at the extreme terminus or end opposite the mallet head in order to utilize the greatest possible length of each mallet shaft in order to strike large intervals between notes and to minimize interference between and among portions of the mallet shafts grasped in the percussionist's hands.
This arrangement has proven problematic in terms of pedagogic facility for a number of reasons. Firstly, the mallet shaft of most traditional keyboard percussion mallets ranges in diameter from just under 5/16 of an inch to perhaps a little more than three-eighths of an inch. This leaves very little surface area for the percussionist to gain purchase with his or her grip and with which to control the mallet through the range of axes required especially when required to manipulate each mallet independently of the others. As might be intuited, at the beginning and well into the training for four mallet techniques, the acquisition of the skills required to master the techniques can be extremely awkward and ungainly. The instant invention addresses this particular challenge through the use of a knob, or pommel, at the butt end of the mallet shaft to provide the percussionist with substantially increased surface area for grasping (the butt end being the end of the mallet grasped by the percussionist while playing) while simultaneously preserving the slender diameters of the mallet shafts to minimize interference between mallets being independently manipulated. Thereby the present invention provides increased control over each individual mallet for the student and practitioner.
The increased surface area the instant invention provides, through the use of a pommel or grasping knob, also improves awareness of the mallets' orientation in space by providing greater tactile input from the hand to the brain, increasing both the confidence the percussionist possesses regarding the orientation of the mallet and the feeling of control over the mallet. This increased confidence can be crucial both for students of percussion and for teachers of percussion as it allows a student to concentrate more on the music and less on the specific orientation of the mallet. While the current emphasis of the invention is on providing a method for training, rehearsing, and practice for students of keyboard percussion instruments, it will be noted that the benefits mentioned above will accrue across the spectrum of skill levels, from beginners to accomplished professionals and that application, either in manufacture or in retrofitting, of the pommeled or knobbed grip to mallets designed for performance as well as for rehearsing will be entertained and are hereby expressly foreseen and claimed below.
An additional challenge for percussionists in the early stages of their training as well as throughout their careers is that keyboard percussion mallet-building technique has typically resulted in mallets of considerable weight. This is especially problematic for younger practitioners. The weight of the mallet head can shape the percussionist's experience of the instrument in at least two ways which the instant invention seeks to address. These involve ease of mallet control, and the volume level in terms of the sound produced when the mallet strikes the striking surface.
Mallet control as pertains to mallet head weight: Typically, traditional keyboard mallet construction is achieved by attaching a core of cork, plastic, rubber, or wood to one end of the mallet shaft, and subsequently, in many cases, wrapping the core with multiple layers of other materials such as latex or leather, and then wrapping again with layers of yarn or cord in order to mitigate and/or modify the impact of the mallet head on the striking surface, which in many cases has traditionally been a rosewood bar or a bar made of some synthetic material or metal. This technique of mallet construction often results in a mallet of considerable weight. When held by the percussionist at the extreme opposite end of the mallet shaft as is the case with the four mallet grips typically taught in keyboard percussion studies (see FIGS. 2-5) and cf O'Donnell, (U.S. Pat. No. 6,924,423 B2, 2005, Drawings, Sheet 2) these traditional mallets suspend as if from a fulcrum, amplifying the effects of momentum and inertia at the mallet head end of the mallet and subsequently multiplying the difficulty with which the mallet might be manipulated by the percussionist's fingers and wrists. The present invention addresses this problem by utilizing light weight materials such as sponge rubber and synthetic materials such as polyurethane foam to comprise the mallet head, resulting in a mallet of considerably reduced weight and thus considerably enhanced control. Said construction considerations possess the further benefit of reducing muscle stress during the long periods of practice and rehearsal sessions which are commonly required in order for the student to acquire the necessary fine-motor-control skills and become proficient at the instrument. Moreover, the weight of the traditional mallet, when gripped with the butt of the unimproved mallet shaft in the palm and heel of the hand presses the unimproved mallet butt into the palm or heel with considerable pressure, often causing considerable discomfort. The lighter weight of the instant invention's lightweight mallet heads mitigates this effect. Furthermore the gripping pommels at the butt ends of the instant invention further mitigate the effects of momentum and inertia accruing from mallet head weight by mitigating the force of the mallet shaft at the point of contact with the palm of the percussionist's hand by effectively enlarging the contact area, dispersing the force of the weight and impact across a wider surface area.
Practice volume: As a general rule, there is a direct relationship between the weight of the mallet head and the volume level of sound produced when the mallet strikes the striking surface of a keyboard percussion instrument. Traditional mallets being relatively heavy, as indicated above, they tend to produce substantial volumes of sound during ordinary use. While this is a desirable characteristic in some performance situations, it can have a deleterious effect on practicing and rehearsing, which often entails a considerable degree of repetition in which notes and patterns of notes are repeated for hours on end. Such repetition at high volumes can not only produce irritation in the practitioner himself or herself but also can prove irritating to those who share practitioner's sonic space. The instant invention addresses this problem by utilizing ultra-lightweight materials as described above for the mallet head construction. This method of mallet construction produces a significantly reduced volume of sound while still producing sufficient sound from the struck instrument for the practitioner to be able to hear the tones struck and practice proficiency. It is noted that some lightweight materials, such as small hard-rubber or Nitrile heads, while being light, can also produce relatively loud volumes. The current invention addresses this problem by utilizing ultra-light polyurethane foam spheres as a mallet head in the 35-40 mm range and sponge rubber spheres in the range of 18-25 mm coated with a plasticizing or other similar coating in order to reinforce or otherwise moderately harden said spheres so as to sound bars at the desired volume. It is contemplated that other materials yielding a balance between lightness and low volumes will be discovered and applied.